Afghanistan's Wedding Laws

Afghanistan's Wedding Crackdown May Go Even Farther

Last month, we learned that India and Afghanistan were both considering laws to limit the size and cost of weddings in an attempt to help alleviate debt and food waste. But according to The Guardian, the Afghan law would also mandate the creation of wedding committees, who would police ceremonies to make sure that brides are dressed modestly and men and women remain in separate rooms.

Afghanistan's wedding industry has been on the rise over the past few years, and elaborate, glittery, and sometimes low-cut wedding gowns — decidedly not in compliance with Islamic sharia, as the new law would require — are par for the course. So are big pre- and postwedding celebrations, like henna night, which would also be out under the proposed law, which bans the gathering of large groups in wedding halls for other types of ceremonies.

The original rationale behind the law was apparently to keep young grooms from being plunged into debt after throwing a lavish wedding, but the morality elements put a new spin on it entirely. What do you make of it?